Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour
The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour (usually the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, or just the Stephen Leacock Award) is an annual literary award presented to the best work of humorous literature in English by a Canadian writer. The award is a tribute to well-known Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock (1869–1944), and is accompanied by a cash prize of $15,000 (CAD). It is presented each year during a banquet ceremony in Leacock's hometown of Orillia, Ontario. The Leacock Associates is the organising body behind the award, and was founded in 1946 by a loose group of Leacock's friends and supporters. Each year the Associates' board of directors appoints a panel of suitable judges from around the country, who select from submitted works a short list of five books. It is one of the oldest literary prizes in Canada, and is the only one awarded to a work of humour. The cash prize began in 1970, as a $2,500 award co-sponsored by Manulife Insurance and the Hudson's Bay Company. The following decades saw gradual increases in the amount of the prize under a number of donors, reaching its current value of $10,000 in 2002, sponsored by the TD Bank Financial Group. In 1969 the Associates established a quarterly newsletter called The Newspacket to commemorate the centenary of the author's birth. The publication prints excerpts from nominated books, and is itself a showcase for Canadian humour writing. In 1977 the group established a Student Award for Humour, which honours young writers from secondary and post-secondary levels. Winners *1947 - Harry L. Symons, Ojibway Melody *1948 - Paul Hiebert, Sarah Binks *1949 - Angeline Hango, Truthfully Yours *1950 - Earle Birney, Turvey *1951 - Eric Nicol, The Roving I *1952 - Jan Hilliard, The Salt Box *1953 - Lawrence Earl, The Battle of Baltinglass *1954 - Joan Walker, Pardon My Parka *1955 - Robertson Davies, Leaven of Malice *1956 - Eric Nicol, Shall We Join The Ladies? *1957 - Robert Thomas Allen The Grass is Never Greener *1958 - Eric Nicol, Girdle Me A Globe *1959 - No Award Given *1960 - Pierre Berton, Just Add Water and Stir *1961 - Norman Ward, Mice in the Beer *1962 - W. O. Mitchell, Jake and the Kid *1963 - Donald Jack, Three Cheers for Me *1964 - Harry J. Boyle, Homebrew and Patches *1965 - Gregory Clark, War Stories *1966 - George Bain, Nursery Rhymes to be Read Aloud by Young Parents with Old Children *1967 - Richard J. Needham, Needham's Inferno *1968 - Max Ferguson, And Now...Here's Max *1969 - Stuart Trueman, You're Only as Old as You Act *1970 - Farley Mowat, The Boat Who Wouldn't Float *1971 - Robert Thomas Allen, Wives, Children and Other Wild Life *1972 - Max Braithwaite, The Night We Stole the Mountie's Car *1973 - Donald Bell, Saturday Night at the Bagel Factory *1974 - Donald Jack, That's Me in the Middle *1975 - Morley Torgov, A Good Place to Come From *1976 - Harry J. Boyle, The Luck of the Irish *1977 - Ray Guy, That Far Greater Bay *1978 - Ernest Buckler, Whirligig *1979 - Sondra Gotlieb, True Confessions *1980 - Donald Jack, Me Bandy, You Cissie *1981 - Gary Lautens, Take My Family...Please! *1982 - Mervyn J. Huston, Gophers Don't Pay Taxes *1983 - Morley Torgov, The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick *1984 - Gary Lautens, No Sex Please...We're Married *1985 - Ted Allan, Love is a Long Shot *1986 - Joey Slinger, No Axe too Small to Grind *1987 - W.P. Kinsella, The Fencepost Chronicles *1988 - Paul Quarrington, King Leary *1989 - Joe Kertes, Winter Tulips *1990 - W.O. Mitchell, According to Jake and the Kid *1991 - Howard White, Writing in the Rain *1992 - Roch Carrier, Prayers of a Very Wise Child *1993 - Joseph Levesque, Waiting for Aquarius *1994 - Bill Richardson, Bachelor Brothers Bed and Breakfast *1995 - Josh Freed, Fear of Frying and other Fax of Life *1996 - Marsha Boulton, Letters from the Country *1997 - Arthur Black, Black in the Saddle Again *1998 - Mordecai Richler, Barney's Version *1999 - Stuart McLean, Home from the Vinyl Cafe *2000 - Arthur Black, Black Tie and Tales *2001 - Stuart McLean, Vinyl Cafe Unplugged *2002 - Will Ferguson, Generica *2003 - Dan Needles, With Axe and Flask: A History of Persephone Township From Pre-Cambrian Times to the Present *2004 - Ian Ferguson, Village of the Small House: A Memoir of Sorts *2005 - Will Ferguson, Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw *2006 - Arthur Black, Pitch Black *2007 - Stuart McLean, Secrets from the Vinyl Cafe *2008 - Terry Fallis, The Best Laid Plans *2009 - Mark Leiren-Young, Never Shoot a Stampede Queen: A Rookie Reporter in the Cariboo Country "Mark Leiren-Young wins Leacock Medal for humour". The Globe and Mail, April 30, 2009. *2010 - Will Ferguson, Beyond Belfast: A 560-Mile Walk Across Northern Ireland on Sore Feet *2011 - Trevor Cole, Practical Jean References External links *Leacock Medal for Humour Website Category:Canadian literary awards Category:Comedy and humor awards Category:Awards established in 1946